Cold compression therapy is used in sports medicine and injury rehabilitation. More particularly, cold compression therapy may be used for injuries related to soft tissue trauma such as post-surgical rehabilitation, sports injuries, or arthritic conditions, for instance.
Cold compression therapy is a combination of cryotherapy and compression therapy. Cryotherapy generally includes treatment of an injury through direct application of cold temperatures to the injured area. By applying the cold temperatures, heat is transferred away from the injured area, which causes vasoconstriction and reflexive vasodilation, which decreases metabolism and may alleviate minor pain. Cryotherapy systems include a wide range of devices from a bag of ice to cryo-saunas in which a user can enter and sit for some time to treat an entire body of the user.
Compression therapy generally refers to exerting an external pressure on an injured area. The external pressure acts on the tissue to decrease or prevent swelling. Like cryotherapy systems, compression systems include a wide range of devices from stretchy socks to wraps with complex geometric design having hook and loop systems for securing the wraps to the injured area.
Most existing cold compression therapy systems combine application of cold temperatures with application of external pressure. Some of the cold compression systems are static. Users of static cold compression systems cannot adjust or quickly alleviate the external pressure exerted on the injured area. These static cold compression systems are not intended to be adjusted and often require substantial re-positioning and modifications to various straps to change the external pressure.
Alternatively, some cold compression systems are dynamic. Dynamic cold compression systems allow adjustment of the external pressure. However, dynamic adjustment systems often require large-scale compressors with complex controls to allow a user to control the external pressure applied to the injured area. These systems are large, expensive, and cumbersome to operate. The majority of dynamic cold compression systems are not practical for individual use due to the expense and difficulty involved in proper use. Thus, these cold compression systems are used by physical therapists.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.